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Krista's abdomen should not clench. Her heart shouldn't tick into a quicker beat. There are too many reasons why. Endless reasons. For starters, Harkurians are aliens and the High Priest wasveryspecific about his stance on aliens. She would be exiled for even thinking about this if she had not already been exiled, or they might have simply stoned her to death outside the gate and left her body for the carrion birds.
Except, it doesn’t matter, does it?Krista’s brain whispers treacherously.You don’t have a High Priest anymore. You don’t have a commune. There are no hands to throw stones. If you want to take an alien to bed …
Krista clears her throat a little too loudly. “Um. Is this venison?” Human settlers once brought deer and elk with them from Earth when they arrived here—a gift for the Harkurian colonists who had already claimed the planet for their home, but Krista grew up in a farming community. Though they trade with hunters sometimes, they have none of their own.
“Krista not had?” Pel asks, his brows lifting in surprise. “What does Krista eat?”
“Nothing like this. Meat is sort of a luxury where I’m from.” This answer shocks the hunters, who exchange the most bewildered glances. “Yeah, and when I have meat, it’s chicken or goat. Once, the Patriarch traded for some pieces of dried cow. Jerky. This is better,” she adds, because a little compliment never hurts.
“Yes, obvious.” Pel snorts. “Iwould leave a place without meat. Good that Krista left.”
“I was exiled, actually,” she says, tensing as the last syllables leave her mouth. Okay, so apparently having food in her belly makes Krista stupid. “But I’m not a criminal,” she adds quickly.
“An exile.” Thon considers each of his brothers. He’s communicating something with that look, but Krista can’t say what. Her fingers tighten on the knife in her hand, her palm aching dully as the rough leather digs in.
Please don’t turn on me. Please don’t.“Is—I mean, is that a problem?”
Noss mutters something that sounds suspiciously like ‘idiot.’
“No. We are the same. Exiles.” Thon admits this casually, but something has changed. They're all a little too focused now, a little too interested. They have stopped dabbing at themselves with the rags, their hands dropping to their laps or, in Pel’s case, freezing in place with the fabric still pressed to his chest. What is going on? “We were sent away to settle a dispute amongst clans. Were you?”
Okay, they are visibly entertainingideasover there. Just in case those ideas are unpleasant ones, Krista lifts her chin and meets each of their eyes in turn. “Actually, I tried to carve a man’s face off.”
The Harkurians stare.
Good. Whatever they’re thinking about, whatever notions they’re having, a subtle warning seems warranted. “It was self-defense, of course. The guy attacked me first. As I said, I’m not a criminal.”
“Noss attacked Krista,” Pel reminds them cheerfully, his eyes overly bright with that special, younger sibling brand of sadism. Yeah, he has to be the youngest. Predictably, Pel receives dirty looks from both of his elders.
“It’s a husband’s right to discipline his wife. That’s what they said.” Krista focuses on the blade in her hand, recalling another one about the same size. “But I didn’t want a husband so I didn’t agree. I expressed my disagreement loudly and repeatedly and no one cared because this man paid my bride price. They had all the time in the world to listen, but they were still sosurprisedthat I enforced what I said.”
Even Noss shifts his weight, his expression bothered. “Pay?” he speaks up. “With credits?”
“Not allowed,” Pel scoffs, though he does not look certain of that. In fact, he looks to Thon for verification, but Thon’s gaze rests firmly on Krista’s face, his fist slowly tightening around the cloth in his hand. It has to be leaving a puddle on his thigh, but he doesn’t acknowledge it.
“Bride prices are an old concept,” Krista explains with a deceptively easy shrug. “Very traditional. My village has a religious exemption from EarthGov, so …”
“Did you defeat him?” Thon asks when Krista trails off. His attention has not moved from her face, his expression serious.
“Defeat him?”Krista laughs despite her prickling unease. “I guess you never had to write ‘violence is not the answer’ a thousand times on a whiteboard when you were growing up, did you?”
“No.” Thon’s eyes gleam with a bloodthirsty sort of ardor as he agrees, leaning in so that the firelight clings lovingly to his face. “Sometimes violence is the answer, and it sounds to me like you answered beautifully.”
Krista’s breath catches in her throat and hangs there. How is it that this man—thisalienmale—can just sit there and make her want things she hasn’t cared a whit about since the baker’s son? She hardly knows him at all, but he doesn’t speak like anyone she has ever met. When Krista’s lungs finally think to protest, her shuddering inhale is noticeable and embarrassing.
One corner of Thon’s mouth lifts. “Krista, if you have no one expecting you, and nowhere to go, then I would like to propose a bargain.”
The other two Harkurians shift restlessly in their places. This is it. Whatever caused that strange behavioral shift is a part of this bargain. What is happening right now? The air is sexually charged. Is Thon about to propose an orgy? She knows nothing about Harkurian culture. Maybe orgies are a thing they offer to guests. Slowly, Krista lowers the knife with the last bit of meat still clinging to the blade, her wrist braced on her knee. “I’m listening.”
“Our clan has trade connections in some of the Human settlements to the east. They are decent. No … bride prices. We can see you there safely, vouch for you, and cover your keep for as long as necessary. You would want for nothing.”
Krista shakes her head, barely processing the offer. “I don’t want to stay on this planet.”
“That can also be arranged,” Thon assures her, and the ease of his answer is shocking. He doesn’t even hesitate or question it, like leaving is perfectly reasonable and possible. “We can open an account for you and deposit credits from here. Same bargain. We will cover your keep.”
Krista’s brows lift. It’s aphenomenaloffer—the sort that comes with a steep price tag. “What do you want in exchange?”
“Our clan has no females,” Thon says without preamble. “They were not exiled with us. Females remain on Harkur, absorbed into rival clans.”
